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Plan For Saltworks Raises Ecology Concern

November 21, 1999|By From Tribune News Services.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO — Construction of a huge saltworks at a northern Mexican lagoon would seriously alter the surrounding area, which is a World Heritage site and key breeding ground for gray whales, a United Nations agency warned.

A report to be presented at this week's meeting in Morocco of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization urges Mexico to consider carefully the "World Heritage values" of the site when evaluating the salt plant proposal.

The saltworks at San Ignacio Lagoon, located on the Pacific coast of the Baja California Peninsula, would be the world's second largest, producing 7.7 million tons of salt annually.

The UNESCO statement said "the new project would clearly bring major changes to the land surrounding Laguna San Ignacio, which is currently the best preserved . . . lagoon system in Baja California."

UNESCO officials visited the lagoon in August but were unable to determine fully how the saltworks might affect the area because they hadn't yet received an environmental impact statement.